Hongkongers throw caution to the wind with political satire, puns in typhoon naming contest, as load
The Observatory is seeking names for tropical cyclones “with Hong Kong characteristics” that are easily pronounceable, bilingual and neither “discriminating [nor] controversial” to add to a list for consideration by an international body.
Some suggestions in Chinese had gone viral on social media by Saturday, two days after the competition began. Among them were: “Glory”, alluding to a 2019 protest song the government recently sought to ban; “Pikachu”, playing on Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s name; and “Improve”, which frequently appears on slogans by authorities about electoral reforms.Why Typhoon Mawar is sending mercury soaring, bringing haze in Hong Kong
Hongkongers swiftly responded to the names on Facebook and LIHKG, a Reddit-like forum, with one joking: “The typhoon won’t be allowed to enter Hong Kong if it’s named ‘Glory’ because of a possible injunction!”
Authorities are seeking a court ban on all forms of the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” and its derivatives. A representative from the Department of Justice said the injunction was aimed at people who had the intention to incite secession, sedition, or to violate the national anthem law.
Other popular names drawing hundreds of positive responses were “National Security” and “One Country, Two Systems”.
Veteran commentator Sonny Lo Shiu-hing called the naming suggestions “knee-jerk reactions”, indicating they were typical of a psychological response in societies undergoing political transformation and also a form of subtle participation in politics.
He said the dominance of politics-themed names suggested that residents were trying to “make the most” of available channels to express themselves amid the city’s overhauled governance, where some perceived free speech to be retreating.
“Some people are still using available space on social media to express satire and cynical dissent,” Lo said. “These names reflect public opinion and political culture in some sectors.”
Through the naming activity, the Observatory hopes to improve awareness and knowledge of the hazards brought about by tropical cyclones.
A similar contest was last held in 2005, when names including “Tai Chi”, referring to the centuries-old Chinese martial art, and “Kapok”, a common flower-bearing tree, were selected from 25,000 entries.
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Participants can submit their suggestions on the forecaster’s website from Thursday to the end of July. Shortlisted names will be made available for public voting online later in the year.
The winning entries will be submitted to a typhoon committee operating under a United Nations body and the World Meteorological Organization for approval when a name needs to be replaced.
The committee has approved names from the 14 members since 2000 for tropical cyclones in the Western North Pacific and the South China Sea.
A name is retired when there are serious casualties and economic losses, requiring the member that proposed it to provide a replacement.
The current list has 10 names provided by Hong Kong, which includes “Ma-on” meaning horse saddle, “Dolphin” and “Lion Rock”, one of the city’s peaks.
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The name “Kai-tak”, submitted by the city, has been retired while Ma-on is still pending a replacement despite its use also being discontinued. The former, in 2017, led to 2.8 billion pesos (US$50.2 million) worth of damage, 47 deaths and 44 disappearances in the Philippines.
The latter, which struck in 2022, was also requested by the Southeast Asian country to be decommissioned with three deaths and damage totalling about 2.4 billion pesos.
In the 2005 contest, entries included the names of public figures and popular local delicacies. Some names were rejected by the typhoon committee because of negative connotations in other languages.
“Quite a number of nominations used local Hong Kong food ... but a number of judges could not imagine a barbecued pork bun hitting other countries or Hong Kong,” then observatory director Lam Chiu-ying said at the time.
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